


Don't Die

by bella8876



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Episode Tag, I know what Stiles and Derek did last summer, M/M, Spoilers for Chaos Rising, Well not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-14
Updated: 2013-06-14
Packaged: 2017-12-14 22:49:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/842262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bella8876/pseuds/bella8876
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek knew they needed to talk.  God did they need to talk.  He’d put it off all summer, thinking he’d have time, that they’d get to it eventually.  But they never did.  And then school started, and suddenly without any conscious decision made on their parts, things were just different between them.  Strained.  And Derek hated it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Die

**Author's Note:**

> Just my take on a missing scene from Chaos Rising. I'm really enjoying the idea that Stiles and Derek have been working together all summer so I wrote this little tidbit.

Derek could feel Stiles eyes on him without bothering to look. It was a familiar sensation Derek had gotten used to at some point over the summer. He could tell that Stiles was dying to say something, his whole body vibrating with the tension of holding whatever it was in. 

Scott excused himself to go check on Isaac and Stiles waited until he was out of earshot before turning to Derek, “This is bullshit and you know it.” 

“Stiles,” Derek said in warning because he didn’t want to talk about it. They didn’t have _time_ to talk about it, but he also knew that wouldn’t stop Stiles. 

“No, if this were six weeks ago it would be me going with you instead of Scott,” Stiles pressed. 

Derek didn’t deny it, didn’t even want to. There was a small part of him that would rather it be Stiles than Scott, that would rather have Stiles at his back the way it had been all summer. But things were getting too dangerous, too real. And Derek wasn’t going to risk it. Not again. They’d been lucky so far. And Derek knew better than most people that luck had a way of running out.

“But it’s not six weeks ago,” Derek snapped finally looking up. His voice was still no more than a whisper, but that didn’t stop Peter from raising his eyebrow. 

“It was supposed to be me,” Stiles said and Derek closed his eyes, knowing what was coming. “You know it, Isaac knows it, Peter knows it. I was supposed to be out there that night, not Isaac.” Stiles swallowed, his voice suddenly tight. 

They’d split the town into quarters, then broke that down into sectors, five square miles to search a night until they’d canvassed the whole of Beacon Hills. While Scott spent his summer trying to distance himself from everything and become a better Scott, they spent their night searching their assigned sector then reporting back about anything important they’d found. For the most part things had gone great, no problems. Then Scott asked Stiles to go with him to get that stupid tattoo and so Stiles asked Isaac to cover his sector. So of course that when all hell had broken loose. 

“If it had been you out there that night instead of Isaac, if it had been you who’d found the Alpha’s, you’d be dead,” Derek pointed out through clenched teeth. “And we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.” 

“But we’re not are we?” Stiles said staring Derek right in the eye. “We’re not actually having this conversation. In fact we’ve sort of made it a point to not have this conversation.” The words were out there now, there was no taking them back and Stiles didn’t even try, he just kept on pushing, because that’s what Stiles did, he pushed. “Or any conversation really.” 

Derek sighed. He knew they needed to talk. God did they need to talk. He’d put it off all summer, thinking he’d have time, that they’d get to it eventually. But they never did. And then school started, and suddenly without any conscious decision made on their parts, things were just different between them. _Strained_. And Derek hated it. 

He hated the silence that laid thick and unbroken between them the week before when they found themselves alone together for the first time in a while. Hated the way he suddenly felt awkward and unsure in Stiles’s presence, like he didn’t fit right in his own skin. Hated that he could tell Stiles felt the same way. 

It had been a bit easier earlier, almost like it was before. The back and forth, the banter, the teasing. The way Stiles hadn’t hesitated to touch him, like he’d tone it a hundred times before. Because he had. Knees resting against each other as they poured over town maps, a hand on the back of his neck, a knock to the shoulder, squeezing Derek’s wrist and throwing out a mostly sarcastic _“Don’t die”_ every time they parted ways. 

“A lot of things were different six weeks ago.” Derek said, his tone almost resigned, as Scott bounded down the stairs and headed for the door. Derek pushed himself away from the table and Stiles’s hand shot out, his fingers automatically curling around Derek’s wrist, his thumb brushing softly across Derek’s pulse. Something loosened in Derek at that and he let out a breath before turning back to Stiles. 

“Later?” It wasn’t a promise, they both knew better than to make those anymore. But it was the best he could offer at the moment. It must have been enough for Stiles because he squeezed Derek’s wrist lightly before loosening his grip, his fingers sliding down the back of Derek’s hand slowly. Derek wasn’t sure what made him do it, but before he could stop himself he reached out with his index finger and tangled it with Stiles’s. 

“Don’t die.” Stiles said, no trace of sarcasm in his voice this time. Derek felt the corner of his lip twitch before giving him a quick nod and stepping away. 

Derek didn’t know what to expect when they got to the vault. Didn’t know what kind of shape Boyd would be in. He refused to think about the possibility that Isaac was right and all they’d find of Erica would be her body. And he had no idea who the mystery girl was, or if she’d end up being friend or foe. The only thing he knew for sure was that Stiles would be waiting for him when he got back. And that was enough for now. 

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my [Tumblr](http://bella8876.tumblr.com/). You should check it out.


End file.
